Sydney public relations agency ICON International has joined forces with boutique creative agency chris+geoff to establish a unique new offering based on a business model that links brand promotion with brand protection.

DAYLIGHT Agency currently services a client portfolio of multinational, national and local firms from its Sydney office. It has around 20 staff in Sydney, as well as a presence in other locations.

Chris Gray, managing director of DAYLIGHT Agency, said: “In a world of disruption, we took the important decision to evolve and reshape the firm to provide a unique industry-leading business proposition in the changing marketplace.

“Bringing together the two businesses has created a fully-integrated communication services firm capable of brand management in good times and bad.

Gray said the merger has brought together a wide range of skills and capabilities, with the business centred around five core strategic areas: advertising, digital and social, marketing, PR and reputation management.

“Our point of difference is we look at brands from a holistic point of view, helping our clients to harness opportunity while managing threat,” he said.

“We have all witnessed the reputational damage high-profile brands have suffered in recent times when they have failed to get the mix right between promotion and protection.

“Our view is that brand resilience is only achieved when both sides of the equation are in play at the same time.”

Gray noted that DAYLIGHT’s service offering is built around the ‘ESOP’ (earned, shared, owned, paid) business model.

“With key capabilities such as brand strategy, content development, crisis communication, design, digital, experiential, production, social media and executive training all within one agency, it allows clients to take a more strategic approach, tailoring our suite of capabilities to their brand management needs,” he said.

“We are also considering our media buying requirements to complete the business structure.”